


50+ Followers Celebration Drabble Collection

by Dragons4ever



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Character Death, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, but only in the second chapter which you can just skip if you want, tw: metions of terrorism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-15 00:49:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1285054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragons4ever/pseuds/Dragons4ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In celebration of reaching 50 followers on my writing blog, I asked for prompts so I could write a oneshot for them. Because I couldn't decide, I've written them all. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Freshman Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soul is an idiot who can’t keep his mouth shut. Luckily, there’s someone who’s gonna look out for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from professor-maka on tumblr about Maka saving Soul when he's being a dumbass. There will be a prequel at some point to explain what the Freshman Incident was but as of yet, it has not been written. Please enjoy! ^_^  
> EDIT: Prequel is up, 'The (Actual) Freshman Incident'.

In hindsight, it probably hadn't been such a good idea to antagonise someone who had already been pointed out as the school bully by his new best bro. But then, Soul had never been the best at keeping his sarcastic shit to himself. So really, it wasn't much of a surprise when said bully and two of his cronies cornered him after school and told him they were going to beat the ever living shit out him for 'disrespecting them' in the cafeteria at lunch.

And he had then, against all of his better judgement, decided to snipe back with something of the lines of "your faces have already done that, get some paper bags, geez".

He couldn't exactly remember what was said, his face was being ground into the tarmac a few seconds later.

Just as he was about to resign himself to his fate of getting his ass handed to him, going home, getting yelled at for getting into a fight _on his first fucking day_ and then having to deal with all the shitty people in his new high school tomorrow for said ass handing, he heard the sound of the Lord.

Unfortunately, that lord was self-proclaimed and had hair dyed bright blue.

"Oi, fucktards, get your hands off my bro, or the great god Black*Star is going to _destroy you_!"

Black*Star was standing a little way off, fists raised as though to fight. He looked kinda dumb, standing in his wrestling uniform, but it was better than no Black*Star standing there to save him.

Soul was momentarily relieved, however that relief fled in the face of the bullies merely laughing at Black*Star.

"Piss off dweeb, unless you wanna get pulverised too!" the main bully yelled back. Soul could just about see Star vibrating with barely contained fury.

"Hey!" a little squeaky voice interrupted from behind them. All five boys turned to see a girl, blonde hair done in pigtails, school uniform and all running towards them. Soul recognised her vaguely as someone Star had pointed out as one 'smartass, but a cool one'. "Travis, you shit, the fuck did I tell you about bullying on my watch?"

Soul's heart just about fell into his stomach, kinda worried for the girl and he began to wonder if perhaps the bullies would go easy on her, since she was a girl and all. But the concern was not needed. As soon as the bullies spied the girl, their faces went pale.

"Shit, it's Maka!" one of the cronies yelled. " **Run!** "

All three bolted.

Soul sat on the tarmac in amazement.

"Oi, bookworm, I had it under control!" Black*Star cried, jogging over to help his friend up as the girl, Maka, ran up to them.

She put her hands on her knees, leaning over as she panted. "Yeah, sure Star. Whatever." He scoffed and she rolled her eyes, turning her gaze on Soul. "So, you're Star's new friend, the one who talked back to Travis in the cafeteria today, right?"

Soul could only nod, mind reeling with the idea that even senior bullies, guys that were two years older than them and nearly twice his body mass, were afraid of this tiny girl.

"What did you do to make them scared of you?" he blurted.

Maka blinked at him as Star started guffawing. He slung and arm round Soul's neck and said, "Now, _that_ is an excellent story. Allow the great Black*Star to tell you all about the Freshman Incident. It's a great story, let me tell you..."


	2. Let Me Bubble-Wrap Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A spy AU, Stein acts like a parents to a seriously damaged kid, Tsubaki reassures Black*Star of his benevolence and Liz tries to get through to the new Shinigami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompts came from tumblr user the-self-diagnosis, you can find the whole prompt in this post: http://d4s-scribbles.tumblr.com/post/78951021324/50-celebration-oneshots-part-2-let-me-bubble-wrap  
> Possible trigger warnings: character death, mentions of terrorism (a plane gets blown up off-screen), a squirrel gets killed and anything to do with smoking.

Soul Evans was an interesting spy to say the least. Loaned over to the CIA from MI6, he had been a bit of shock to the system, namely to Special Agent Maka Albarn. He had been able to hide his upper class English accent remarkably well for the first six months and even started to take on an American twang all on his own; it was only after a good too many shots with his new partner that the disguise fell away.

Some of the admin thought he was dreamy, a real life James Bond but Maka thought he was an ass who was unfortunately too good at his job to let that get himself killed. (Though she had to admit, he did have a nice ass. And some nice biceps. And a nice face. And sometimes a nice personality. But that was all objective and nothing to do with personal feelings!)

Perhaps it had been a mistake to let his charm start to break down her walls. Her strict attitude of no ‘funny business’ on the job was worn down until she was putty in his hands. His oh so very lovely hands. Somehow, her own violent charm got to him as well and he was twisted round her finger completely.

Neither let on to this fact until a close call had them screaming at each other in an empty interrogation room. She called him a misogynistic asshole, he called her a bitch with a poker so far up her ass it was coming out her mouth and they ended up making out against the one way window. (They went back to her apartment and had sex afterwards, she had no desire to be caught fucking her partner at work.)

Relationships weren’t forbidden per say, but they were highly discouraged so they kept their little tryst under wraps. After another six months and a few close calls with the L word, Soul was reassigned back home.

Soul wanted to refuse, to request that he join CIA as a liaison between them and their British counterparts but Maka told him he was being stupid. He would hate that role and it was just plain moronic to put their relationship ahead of his career. She refused to be the reason he had to give up his job which would only breed future resentment. He had quietly asked if she wanted to join him in Britain then, she’d probably love it there but he knew she’d never leave her home country. She had too much of the American patriotic spirit in her.

So, they parted ways, hearts breaking and eyes tearful as they said their goodbyes at the airport. He kissed her one last time before boarding the plane that would take him an ocean away and promised that he would call as soon as he landed.

He didn’t. The plane never landed.

Somewhere on board, half way across the Atlantic, a bomb went off. The CIA scrambled to investigate, to find out how a fucking _bomb_ had gotten past their checkpoints. Maka took some extended leave to try and deal with the blow.

She was told he would have died instantly, the force of the explosion literally ripped him apart. It didn’t help much.

They never found all of his body. When she flew to Britain to attend his funeral, it was closed casket, for obvious reasons. She met his parents and brother and was simply introduced as his working partner. No mention of their relationship was made. Somehow, that hurt more than watching his coffin being lowered into the ground.

His brother, Wes, however took one look at her and said quietly, “I told him he’d find himself a pretty American girl.”

* * *

Marie was the one that talked him into it. He had never been entirely comfortable talking about his run in with madness, even to her, and he was sure what he felt for her was ‘love’. Surely, if he couldn’t talk to her about it, he couldn’t talk to the child about it. Though perhaps...

“S-sir?” a timid voice said from behind him.

He turned in his chair to face them and cranked the knob in his head. “I’m sure Marie has told you, you can call me Stein,” he said coolly.

Crona tangled their hands together. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Stein replied with a dismissive wave of the hand. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. “Sit.”

The lilac-haired teen perched on the stitched up sofa to the side, back hunched worse than Eater’s, which was saying something.

Stein took a drag. “Marie wants me to talk to you about madness,” he stated, green eyes flicking from a spot on the wall to the teen, then back to the wall. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”

The teen was silent for a moment. Then, Crona asked quietly, “Does it get better?”

Stein perked up a bit. “How do you mean?”

“Does it get easier to deal with?”

The man leaned back in his chair which squeaked a little. He would have to oil it soon otherwise the sound would piss him off.

“Yes,” he began. “It does get easier. You will always be perceptible to madness, but now that there’s not as much black blood in you, you’ll be able to fight it off better.” He took another drag. “And growing up helps too. As you get older, you get stronger, you learn to recognise the signs, what can trigger you. And we’ll help too, Marie and I.”

Crona was silent for a moment, back slightly straighter that it was before. “Will Maka be able to help me?”

The older man smiled. “Yes, friends will always be able to help. Plus, she’s been able to help Soul who is also perceptible to madness and has experiences with the black blood, though not to the degree that you have.”

Crona finally looked up and purple met green for a moment before the teen glanced back at their hands. Stein kept looking at them, wondering if they would do that again.

“What...What does love feel like?” the teen finally asked.

Stein blinked. “I don’t think I can help you there,” he answered bluntly. “Marie’s the one who understands feelings better.”

Crona frowned and fidgeted.

“Who do you think you love?” Stein questioned, watching the teen carefully.

Crona answered, but so softly that Stein couldn’t hear him.

“You’ll have to speak up.”

“M-Maka.”

The meister hummed. “I supposed that would be natural. She’s your first friend, the first person to really care about you.” He paused. “Though this is perhaps platonic love you are feeling, love between friends.”

“Like the love between Maka and Soul?”

Stein’s eyes roamed to the ceiling, wondering how best to phrase it without disheartening the child. Marie would only smack him if he hurt the child’s feelings.

“Part of their love is platonic, yes,” he finally answered. “Though it seems to be the general consensus that their feelings run deeper than that and that they are the only two who don’t see it. However-” he stood and stretched his arms above his head “-I am still not the most qualified person to answer your questions about love. Go ask Marie, she’ll know. She probably has cake as well.”

* * *

 Sometimes, Black*Star disappears for hours on end. It used to worry Tsubaki a little, right at the beginning of their partnership when she didn’t know him very well, but now she doesn’t mind. He could be out with Soul or Kilik, or he could be working out in the school gym. He could have even found an extraordinarily quiet place to meditate.

However, there are some days when his disappearances are a nuisance, like when she is trying to do a bit of spring cleaning and needs Black*Star’s help to clear out his stuff from their room. She would never yell at him like Maka would, but she wants to give him a firm scolding. As grown-up as he is becoming lately, sometimes it still feels like she is his mother, even though some of her feelings are very un-mother-like.

She finds him in the wooded area behind the school, sitting on the ground, the body of a squirrel lying in front of him. She is momentarily worried, it is a rather creepy thing to do but then Black*Star looks up at her with sad eyes and she realizes what happened.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said hoarsely, looking back down at the furry creature. “I was practicing with some shurikens and I didn’t see him before I hit him.”

Tsubaki kneels down beside him, hands clasped in her laps. “Perhaps we should bury him,” she suggests, glancing at her meister.

His eyebrows are knotting and his lips form a hard line and he nods.

They bury him under a tree and he uses her to carve a little message into the trunk. He had wanted to use an actual knife, out of respect for her but she insisted that she wanted to be part of the process.

“I don’t want to be one of those gods that takes life without reason,” he murmurs when they get home. She wraps an arm around him and pulls him into a hug.

“You never will be. You are too kind and merciful for that.” She smiles at him as he returns the hug. “By honouring him, you have done a very godly thing.”

He chuckles and she pulls away. He is nearly the same height as her and it momentarily throws her off, she is so used to looking down on him due to her, as Liz put it, Amazonian like height.

“Now, we must clean our room, I wanted to do some spring cleaning today but you must help!” she says with a smile.

Black*Star whines but as she gently chides him into picking up his stuff and finding a home for it, either in the trash or on a shelf, she knows that she loves him. He will make an excellent god one day and she can only hope she will stay by his side. When he turns and grins after finishing his half of the room, she knows that he won’t let her stray anywhere else.

* * *

 Liz knew that suddenly accepting the role of a death god, so shortly after the loss of friends and his father, was hard on Kid. She saw it in the little things, the twitch of an eye at something he wouldn’t have batted an eye lid at before, a slightly shorter temper with Patti, the slight darkening of the skin under his eyes.

The thing that really told her that things were getting bad was when her cigarettes started going missing. She knew Patti wasn’t taking them, her sister didn’t like the particular brand she used, and she knew it wasn’t anyone else, nobody but her sister and meister knew where she kept them.

She caught him smoking a week after she noticed the thefts. It was late evening, the sunset dragging on across the sky. He was standing at the balcony, the Shinigami cloak and mask discarded for once. He took slow drags and let them out even slower. She could see he was trying to make smoke rings and smiled slightly at his failed attempts.

“I didn’t know nicotine could affect a god,” she said, standing beside him. She fished out her packet and took one herself, lighting it up and taking a drag.

Kid shook his head. “It doesn’t.”

She raised a finely plucked eyebrow. “Then why do you keep smoking?”

Kid closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. It just- it just feels relaxing. I know it’s all in my head, the nicotine doesn’t do anything for me but it helps anyway.”

Liz shrugged and brushed some of her long blonde hair behind her shoulder. “I don’t suppose you’ll suffer from smoker’s cough or cancer from this.”

“No.”

She chuckled. “Well, then I guess there’s no harm in you keeping the habit. Just buy your own, OK? I’d rather not have to keep getting new packs between you keep nicking mine.”

“Thank you Liz,” he said with a nod.

They stood there in silence, just breathing in the smoke before she finally, silently, reached over and flicked his ear.

The young Shinigami recoiled and cupped the offended ear with a little yelp. “What was that for?!”

She scowled at him. “Patti and I are your partners. We’re your friends. If being a god is stressing you out so much that you take up fucking _smoking_ to deal with it, you should try the radical idea of talking to us.”

Kid tried to put on a calm mask and had she been any one else other than her sister, she wouldn’t have seen through it. But she was Elizabeth Thompson and she took absolutely no shit, even from her beloved meister.

“It’s complicated,” he said in his calm reaper tone and Liz glared.

“I understand that Patti and I are just mortals and I suppose that will never compare to being a god, but I repeat: we are your partners and friends. Talk. To. Us.”

He glanced at her and met her glare for a moment before he sighed and rubbed his face. When he looked back at her, she saw the full extent of his exhaustion.

“Please don’t think I don’t want to tell you and Patti about this out of the belief that you can’t handle it. You are more than capable, I know that.” He averted his gaze and took another drag before he grimaced and drop the cigarette, crushing it under his shoe. “It is just a difficult thing to talk about, let alone think about. I didn’t want to burden you both with it. I have no right to ask that of you.”

She sighed heavily and reached for his arm. She dropped her own cigarette and crushed it under her boot as she pulled him into a hug.

“How many times do I have to say it before you get it into that thick symmetrical skull of yours? Partners means we go through this together. We _chose_ to stick by you through all that madness before, so we _chose_ to stick by you now. As your friends we _want_ you to burden us with your shit, that’s our job.” She pet his hair back gently as he wrapped his arms around her. “Let us in Kid. Please.”

His shoulders slumped under her arms and he pressed his face against her neck, holding her tight. She rubbed his back soothingly, waiting for him to speak. It took him some prodding to get him to open up but she always gave him the time to think up the words he needed to tell her.

“I feel every life and every death,” he began, murmuring into her hair. “It’s exhausting. I can’t sleep without being awoken by someone’s death. For every pinprick of joy I feel for a life born, I feel a pinprick of pain for death.” He took a shuddering breath. “Elizabeth, it _hurts_. How did father deal with this? How can I, only a shadow of his image, deal with this?”

She pulled back suddenly and cupped his face. “You are not just a ‘shadow of his image’ Kid. You are a Shinigami in every sense that your dad was. You’ll get used to this, just like he did. I bet he felt the exact same way that you do when he became a full god.” She stroked his cheeks with her thumbs and smiled. “Patti and I have complete faith in you. And so does everyone else.”

He smiled back at her and wrapped his long fingers around her wrists. He pulled her hands from his face gently but brought them to his lips. The kisses to her knuckles were feather-light but full of meaning. Her cheeks heated slightly as his eyes met hers.

“Thank you.”

She intertwined her fingers with his. “You’re always welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written for most of these characters, so tell me how you think I did!


	3. Never Trust A Star, For They Are Fickle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soul had expected the blind double date to suck, especially after Star and his girlfriend bailed. But Maka is made of surprises and the biggest is how great her first impression is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was based on the prompt from auspiciousleader on tumblr and their prompt was: Soul being super impressed by Maka when they first meet because HOLY SHIT THERE'S A BADASS/HOT CHICK IN A TRENCH COAT WHO IS KICKING ASS AND I THINK I FUCKING LOVE HER. (don't care which AU)  
> Didn't quite stick to the prompt and it's pretty much the shortest of the drabbles but I like it. Enjoy.

Maka was undoubtedly the coolest chick he had ever met. She thought his unusual appearance was _cool_ and she had taken one look at his bike, grinned, and asked if she could have a ride. Her blonde hair was done up in pigtails, which was kinda uncool, but the short skirts she wore more than made up for that.

Her coolness made up for the fact that they had been thrown together because their friends were dating. Soul had been more than a bit pissed that he had been volunteered for a blind double date without his consent, and _then_ Star and his girlfriend had fucking _ditched them_!

It had been Maka who had suggested they go to a burger joint once the lights in the movie theatre turned back on and they discovered the other couple had disappeared. One thrilling motorcycle ride later (her tits were bigger than he had first thought, he wasn’t a pervert or anything but _damn_ he could feel them against his back) and they were sitting in the restaurant, enjoying thoroughly unhealthy food and talking about their mutual friends.

Soul was surprised he hadn’t met Maka before, Star and her had been friends since they were kids and they had known Tsubaki, Star’s girlfriend and Maka’s best friend, since high school. Soul though had only met Star in the bar they frequented back in freshman year of college, back when partying was the norm and stress was minimal.

The only downside to Maka was her crappy taste in music but he could easily overlook that in favour of her more familiar and infinitely cooler preference in TV shows (Game of Thrones was the shit, fuck Star and his shitty tastes).

The date that didn’t really feel like a date, but more of a friendly hang out, ended quite late. Soul, being the gentleman he fucking was, drove Maka back to her apartment and even offered her his jacket to stave off the evening chill. He was content to leave her at her door with the promise of hanging out another time (they had already swapped phone numbers) when she beckoned him closer with a sly look.

Well, he could live a goodnight kiss as well. And what a kiss it was, tongue and roaming hands and far too inappropriate for an apartment block entrance.

Yes, Maka’s first impression was extremely good. Definitely what kept him around after the second date, during which he got a concussion. (Though really, it was his fault, he should have known better than to tease her too much but _fuck_ he didn’t know books could hurt so much)


	4. Training Technique

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training has gotten easier over the years but that doesn't mean she'll slack off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt came from tumblr user gryffindorenfp about Maka training and being awesome. I hope I did it justice. Enjoy!

While Maka had always been an athletic girl, starting _proper_ training for EAT meisters had sucked ass.

Coming home every day after swinging Soul's scythe form around had been tiring in the extreme, not to mention all the extra fitness she had to do to make sure she was on top of her game. This included weight training, track (sprinting and cross-country) and gymnastics. In her spare time, because never Maka slacked off on _anything_ that would make her even just that little bit more prepared for her job, she also took up yoga.

And yeah, at first it sucked. It was painful, it was exhausting, it was soul crushing (and with the amount of Maka-chops Soul got on account of his meisters increased frustration in her exhaustion, pun very much intended) and if it had not been for her sheer stubbornness and overwhelming drive, she would have most likely quit. Quite a few people did within the first three months of EAT training.

But nowadays it was easy. Well, _easier_. Being the three-star meister of a deathscythe with whom she had been partnered with for the better part of four years had given her the capability to laugh at freshman EAT training and look back at the memories of such training quite blissfully.

However, even if she had very nearly reached the top, it did not mean she would be as her partner and relax, oh fuck no.

Coming close to the top was all the motivation she needed to make herself work harder. This meant more time in the gym, more time in the combat rooms at the DWMA and more time sleeping because _shit,_ stepping it meant stepping up the exhaustion.

Soul didn't take the slight schedule change well. If she was going to train harder, then goddamnit, so would he, though perhaps not to the extent that she did, there was a reason she was the _meister_ and he was the _weapon_. And, more time in the gym meant more time away from him and for all his bitching he loved his meister's company and missed her when she wasn't there to scold him for putting his feet on the table or leaving his shit lying everywhere.

So he took to watching her train, leaning against the wall with his earbuds in, sometimes dozing, sometimes working on a song when he had the presence of mind to bring that notebook she bought him a year ago with the proper layout for music.

It was one of those times when he decided to watch his meister train. Today was those days when they spent an unholy amount of time at the gym. He had already hit the showers and cleaned up, but Maka was still going strong, working some weights, one in each hand in order to strengthen her biceps.

His lips curled slightly as he watched. Some people saw her slight build as a weakness, thought she was _breakable_. Soul knew she was anything but. She was made of just as much steel as he was, just that steel was in her muscles rather than literal metal like him. He rubbed his arm absently, Maka had punched him earlier for being a dick and it _hurt_. His little meister was getting a hell of a lot stronger and though it sometimes worried him that he was going to get left behind, he didn't let it bother him. Maka wouldn't let him get left behind.

Maka sighed as she put the weights back, flexing her arms. She looked over her shoulder and saw Soul staring and grinned, turning fully to look at him. Fuck, she had more abdominal muscles than he did.

“Ready to shower now?” he asked, pulling out an earbud.

She nodded her head and began to stretch her arms around her head, “Yeah, gimme a moment to stretch.” They were silent for a moment before she added, “I wanna run the way to school tomorrow, build up my endurance.”

He scoffed and stood. “Maka, you’re already in the top three from our grade in endurance. ‘m pretty sure you don’t need it.”

“But I need to be number one,” she stated, stretching out her legs. “I’m the only one with a deathscythe, it makes sense for me to be at the top of all classes. Mama was when she made papa a deathscythe.”

He scowled and walked over to her. “Your mom didn’t have to compete with the son of Death himself or a guy who wanted to be a god. Chill, you’re already better than her.”

She scowled back and stood up straight, jutting her chin out. “Are you saying mama _couldn’t_ have gotten to first place if she were competing against Kid or Black*Star?”

He snorted and flicked her nose gently. “Maka, c’mon, you _know_ that’s not what I meant.” She huffed and turned her head to the side to avoid him. She was about to walk off when he grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. “What I meant is that I want my meister not to tire herself out needlessly. But-” he tugged on her ponytail and grinned when she whined “-if you’re sure you can do it without injuring yourself, than fuckitall, do it.”

She rolled her eyes and smacked his chest with the back of her hand. “Gee, thanks for the permission _papa_.” She grinned when he grumbled about not being “her pervy, idiotic dad, Jesus woman”.

She walked over to the door to the showers, picking up her bag along the way, and was about to enter when Soul’s voice stopped her.

“But seriously Maka.” She turned to look at him questioningly. He stuffed his hands in her pockets and smiled crookedly. “Don’t do anything to strain yourself. The weapon protects the meister and I wouldn’t be a very cool deathscythe if I let my partner hurt herself because she was being stubborn, OK?”

She rolled her eyes again but smiled at him. “OK Soul, I’ll look after myself.”


	5. Coffee Beans and Bookworms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soul wasn’t gonna lie, the blonde girl reading in the corner was pretty freaking cute.  
> College/coffee shop AU, fem!soma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final fic for this collection, less of a drabble and more of a oneshot.  
> Prompted by tumblr user eisschirmchen: How about Fem!SoMa? ;u; Or Soul being a biker with a gang and Maka being attacked by another group and Soul protects her and take her with him.  
> Enjoy!

Soul wasn’t gonna lie, the blonde girl reading in the corner was pretty freaking cute.

She tucked a white hair behind her ear and filled in another order. The blonde had come in nearly two hours ago, ordered a vanilla spiced latte with a smile that went all the way to her big green eyes and then sat herself down in a deserted corner, pulled a book out of her satchel and started reading. Definitely a bookworm.

And so _fucking_ hot.

As she sent off another customer with a restrained smile so she didn’t show off her shark teeth, she tried to think back to what the cutie’s name had been. She thought it might have been something like Maka but she couldn’t be quite sure.

But it had been a pretty cool name.

Soul noticed that blondie stayed for another two hours, then slipped her book back into her bag and left. She also threw a little wave and smile over her shoulder. Yep, absolutely freaking adorable.

* * *

 

The blonde returned the next day, ordered another vanilla spiced latte and Soul learned that her name was indeed Maka.

Soul had tried to keep her face schooled in a polite expressions, but Maka must have either been a mind reader and heard how confused she was by blondie’s name (despite the fact that she had absolutely no room to talk, what with _Soul_ and everything), or her poker face was slipping.

“It’s Japanese,” she chirped. “From my mama.”

“Huh,” Soul said, with a smile and a nod. “That’s pretty rad.”

Maka giggled. “Yeah, I’m glad it’s my name.”

Soul handed her the drink and their fingers touched slightly. “Hope you enjoy your drink.”

“Thanks, I will.”

They exchanged smiles again and Soul watched Maka trot over to her newly claimed corner where she pulled out her book again, though it was different to the one from the day before. Soul couldn’t help but grin and shake her head. Maka was definitely a nerd. But her initial assessment of the other girl still stood. She was hot as hell.

* * *

 

Over the next three weeks, Soul and Maka developed a sort of routine. Maka would come in at one, order her coffee and while said coffee was being brewed, she would exchange small talk, mostly about mundane things. Then Maka would sit in her corner and read for four hours before going wherever she went after.

Soul’s shift was only during the afternoon, considering she had morning classes (which she hated with all her being) so she wasn’t sure whether Maka just came in the afternoon or whether she also came in the mornings.

Soul asked her about that one time, while her drink was being made.

“Oh, no, I only come here in the afternoons,” Maka replied, waving her hand almost embarrassedly. “I’ve got morning classes but I like coming here to do my required reading.”

“Ah.” Soul handed her the drink. “What do you take then that requires so much reading?”

The blonde grinned. “I’m doing an English literature major. Lots of reading and essays but I think it’s pretty fun. I don’t have to do as much work as some of the other courses.”

Soul laughed. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

Maka just kept grinning, shuffling her feet a bit. “Do you go to DCU too?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Soul hummed and nodded. “Music major, but I’m trying to put my emphasis on technical production though my parents want me to focus on classical playing.” She rolled her eyes. “They’ll come round eventually. My brother’s tryin’ to talk to them while I’m away.”

“Wow, that’s so cool. You must know a lot about music then,” Maka said, cocking her head.

She nodded and shrugged. “Gotta do, it’s part of the course.”

They stood in silence for a moment, both unsure as to whether they should continue the conversation or let it go. Maka spoke first well.

“W-well, I’ve got a lot of reading to do...”

“Ah, yeah, ‘course. Enjoy your drink.”

“Always.”

* * *

 

After spending most of the night thinking over ways to gain a deeper conversation with the blonde, Soul finally decided on her course of action.

“What kind of music do you like?” she asked when making Maka’s drink. Maka was a creature of habit, Soul didn’t even have to ask for her order anymore, she just got it ready for the other girl.

“Trance-fusion and electronic,” said other girl happily answered.

Soul’s world came to a screeching halt.

“Wait, what? You actually _like_ that crap?” Soul could barely believe her pretty little ears. How could someone so _cute_ as Maka like something so _shit_ as _electronic_?

“Hey! It’s not crap! It’s a diverse field of music that is steadily growing and expanding. I may not be as educated as you when it comes to music but that doesn’t mean you’ve got to shit on my preferences,” Maka snapped, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

Soul should have felt bad. But instead she just though frustrated Maka was the most adorable thing ever.

“Heh, sorry. Whatever, you like what you like, even if it’s crap.” She pointedly ignored Maka’s repeated exclamation of “It’s not crap!” and snickered. “You’re such a dork.”

Maka huffed and snatched her drink from Soul’s waiting hand, handed over the money for it and stormed off. Soul kept her poker face up until she asked for a little break and the proceeded to freak out over pissing Maka off. She was cute when angry, yes, but Soul didn’t want to drive her away, she was actually trying to get closer to the girl! Soul cradled her head in her hands and groaned. Why was she such a loud mouth?

* * *

 

When Maka returned the next day, Soul apologized by giving her a sneaky discount and a shaky smile. The green-eyed girl simply giggled and told her it was no big deal. She relaxed slightly and laughed a little herself.

“You look nice today,” she said, gesturing to Maka’s outfit, a cute miniskirt with one of those knitted cardigans over a cream blouse.

“Oh?” Maka raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I look nice every day?”

Soul spluttered and scowled, knowing Maka was just trying to get a rise out of her. She was annoyed that the blonde had succeeded. Maka just laughed at her flushed face.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up nerdette.”

Maka simply stuck her tongue out.

* * *

 

Three days after the music incident, Soul had to laugh when Maka walked in with her blonde hair done up in _pigtails_ like she was still in fucking _elementary_.

“Oh my god Maka, what’s with the hair?” she chortled and enjoyed eyeing the flush spread down the girl’s neck as she made the coffee.

“Hush Soul, I just like it.” Maka huffed and crossed her arms.

Soul hummed, smirking as Maka continued to blush. “And I’m sure all the boys love it.”

Maka snorted. “Not even interested in guys, so I don’t give a fuck what they think.”

“O-oh?” Soul stammered, nearly stumbling over air. “So, uh, you a ladies’ gal?”

Maka nodded and then raised an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

Soul’s eyes widened and shock her head frantically. “N-no! Course not, just didn’t expect it is all.”

“Oh. Do you not think being homosexual is normal then?” Maka questioned, leaning her hip against the counter. She would have retreated to her corner by now to allow Soul to serve other customers but the day was slow and there was nobody else waiting.

Soul snorted and flushed. “ _No_. I’m a ladies’ gal m’self. Just didn’t think you’d be one too, y’know.”

“Ah.” Maka looked down at her cup, face carefully masked. “Glad to know you’re a homophobic asshole.”

“You know many people like that?”

Maka shrugged. “Not really but I’m bound to meet some.”

Soul raised her eyes to the ceiling as though in thought, then she shrugged, wiping up some spilt milk on the counter. “I guess that’s true. Can’t say I know anyone like that myself.” She stopped for a split second before she looked up and grinned at the blonde. “At least, not anyone I talk to anymore.”

Maka grinned back and went over to her conquered corner, leaving Soul to think about why she didn’t talk to her mother much anymore.

* * *

 

Thankfully, the topic of conversation was more cheerful the next day.

“So, if you don’t like electronic, why type of music _do_ you like?”

The white-haired girl grinned and looked up from the muffin stand she was arranging. “Jazz, it’s just so cool!”

Maka giggled. “I don’t know much about jazz but-”

“I could teach you,” Soul blurted, interrupting the blonde. Maka blinked and Soul flushed. “I-if you want that is.”

Maka seemed to mull it over for a moment before she smiled brightly. “Sounds fun, OK.”

Soul looked down bashfully. “Cool.”

* * *

 

The next day, Soul brought in a piece of paper with as many good jazz songs as she could think of (with the help of her roommate, though she refused to tell Liz who the list was for).

“Here, go through this list and see what you like.” She handed the list over and the other girl tucked it into her satchel.

“I can’t promise to understand it, I don’t normally get music...” Maka looked down at her hands clasped around her drink uneasily.

Soul snorted. “There’s nothing _to get_ about music, you just _feel_ it bookworm.”

Maka pouted, puffing out her cheeks like when she was annoyed. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Neither does trying to understand music,” she snickered. When Maka bristled Soul smiled and held her hands up in a placating gesture. “Just, try it out, OK?”

The blonde pursed her lips but folded the piece of paper up and slipped it into her bag. “Alright, I’ll listen to some of these songs when I get back to my dorm.”

“Cool.” Soul grinned.

* * *

 

When Maka came in the next day, she was grinning. She nearly skipped up to the counter, putting her hands on it and leaning forward so she was standing on the tips of her toes.

“I had no idea you had a sound cloud, Soul _Eater_ ,” she said breathlessly.

Soul froze. _Shit_.

“Ah, yeah,” she mumbled, tucking an imaginary loose hair behind her ear. “’s mostly just crap I’ve made for the course. The pieces aren’t very good.”

“What are you talking about?” Maka cried. “They’re so good! I loved ‘Oni’, it was so dark and chaotic and just…” She trailed off, staring into space as though she could find the words needed in thin air. “It just… _got to me_. I don’t know how else to describe it. I really liked it.”

Soul scoffed but couldn’t stop the blush blooming on her face. “You really _do_ have crap taste in music.”

“You’re just too hard on yourself,” Maka chided. “But I also liked some of the stuff on the list!”

Soul grinned, face still flushed. “Oh yeah, which one did you like best?”

They talked for a few minutes about various songs the white-haired girl had recommended. They were only stopped when another customer approached the counter.

“I’ll talk to you later,” the blonde said, waving as she went over to her corner, Soul waving after her.

Unfortunately later never came. Customers suddenly flooded in and Soul didn’t get a free moment until after Maka had already left. She clocked out and headed back to her dorm. She was a little relieved her roommate was out, as nice as Liz was, Soul kinda just wanted to stuff her face full of chocolate, watch an old Disney movie and sleep till noon the next day.

She settled for snacking on some of Liz’s hidden stash and surfing the web. She found herself looking up cinema times.

Well, that _might_ work, if she played her cards right.

* * *

 

Soul felt kinda sick when Maka walked into the coffee shop the following afternoon. She smiled shakily and went about preparing the latte, hands feeling stupidly jittery and jerky. She very nearly dropped the goddamn thing before she placed it on the counter.

“Are you OK?” Maka asked, eyeing Soul warily. “You seem on edge.”

“It’s nothing,” the white-haired girl said, shaking her head. She bit her lip and was silent for a moment before she asked, “So, um, what do you do after you leave here?”

Maka blinked. “Oh, I go back to my dorm most nights to get my homework done, but a couple nights a week I work at the campus library.” She smile brightly and grabbed her drink. “It means it can stay open a little longer for people who want to keep working.”

“Ah.” She eyed Maka before blurting, “So, there’s that new horror that came out last week, want to see it?”

The blonde blinked at her again before she shrugged. “I don’t know, hadn’t really thought about it. I mean, it looks good, but I’m hard to scare so I don’t know.”

Soul’s heart thudded heavily in her chest. Goddamnit, this _woman_. She took in a deep breath through her nose.

“I mean, do you want to go see it with me. Together. Like, like a d-date,” she forced.

The way Maka stared at her, mouth slightly agape and eyebrows raised made her feel hot and sweaty and like a middle-schooler again. _Fuck_.

Then Maka started giggling. Soul’s heart dropped and she turned her head away, eyes downcast. That was just about the worst reaction possible, aside from the other girl running away screaming.

“I’d love to see the movie with you,” Maka finally said, smiling bashfully.

Soul blinked and stared at her, a grin slowly growing on her face. “Really?”

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah.”

“Cool,” Soul breathed as her shoulders slumped in relief. “Um, there’s a showing at eight tonight, if that’s OK with you?” She twisted a loose thread of her apron between her fingers.

“Yeah, that’s perfect!” Maka grinned wider. “I’ll see you then?”

“Uh, yeah,” Soul said and waved a little to Maka’s enthusiastic hand flailing as she skipped over to her corner.

During the rest of Maka’s time there, they kept making eye contact then looking away, blushing. Soul had to keep biting her lip to try and stop herself smiling or, god forbid, _giggling_. Before she knew it, four hours had passed and she glanced over to see Maka packing up her stuff.

Just as she was about to wave and call over that she would see her later, Maka skipped back over to the counter and held out a little strip of paper.

“Here,” she chirped. “Now you have my phone number.”

Soul flushed and took it, pulling her hands to her chest, smiling bashfully.

“See you at eight!”

And with that Maka was out the door, blonde hair floating behind her and skirt twisting around her legs.

Soul was practically vibrating with happiness and as soon as her shift ended an hour later, she bolted out of the coffee shop and near sprinted back to her dorm.

OK, she had two hours to get ready-no, wait, maybe an hour and a half if she wanted to get there on time. She flung her shared room open and danced over to her wardrobe, not noticing her roommate sprawled on her bed till the other girl spoke.

“So,” Liz said, smirk beginning to dance on her lips. “Why are you so excited?”

Soul whirled around to face her and grinned. “Uh, well, I have a date.”

Liz was silent for a moment, then she squealed loudly and vaulted off of her bed, tackling Soul in a glomp.

“Oh my god! Finally, I was wondering when you were gonna get some action!” The blonde pulled back and grinned. She took a deep breath. “OK, OK. When are you gonna meet your date?”

“At eight.”

Liz whined. “That’s hardly enough time to get your ready!”

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes. “It’s just a movie Liz, it’ll be fine.”

Liz looked flabbergasted. “It’s not _just_ a movie Soulie, you’ll go to dinner afterwards, right?!”

Soul shrugged. “I’m not sure, we didn’t really talk about food. And I thought I told you not to use that nickname!”

“You love it Soulie, don’t lie to me,” Liz snickered. Then she sobered. “OK, whatever, let’s get you washed first, you stink of coffee.”

Soul mumbled and was about to turn away and grab her towel when Liz grabbed her shoulders and spun her back.

“Wait! You didn’t tell me who you’re going on a date with!”

Soul paused for a moment. “Um, I don’t think it’s anybody you know-”

Liz scoffed. “Honey, please, I know just about everybody here, one way or another. Now, spill.”

“Um-” she tugged on a strand of her white hair that escaped her ponytail “-it’s this girl. Maka.”

The blonde blinked. “Maka? Maka _Albarn_?”

Soul nodded.

“Cute, short, blonde, short skirts, always reading?” Liz continued, shaking Soul slightly. “ _That_ Maka Albarn?”

Soul’s eyebrows knitted together. “Yeah?”

Liz broke into a huge grin. “Damn girl, you _scored_. I’m not into girls or anything, but _holy hell_ , she has fine legs.”

Soul bit her lip and flushed a little, feeling a dumb little giggle rise in her throat. “And a pretty nice ass,” she added softly.

Liz nodded in affirmation. “Now, go! Shower! I will begin to pick out your outfit. We can’t have you showing up in a less than spectacular outfit for a babe like Maka, can we?”

* * *

 

It had taken them a solid forty minutes (thirty minutes of which were spent debating which skirt would work best with Soul’s ass) to pick out her outfit. It then took them another ten minutes to debate whether or not it was worth wearing lingerie. Soul thought it was too soon to be thinking of that but Liz argue that it would provide a confidence boost.

Eventually the white-haired girl relented and put on her favourite sheer red bra and panties. Admittedly, it did make her feel pretty sexy.

She sat on Liz’s bed and let the blonde apply as much make-up as she wanted, then put on the decided outfit.

When she looked in the full length mirror that hung on the wall on Liz’s side, she had to admit that she looked damn gorgeous.

They had decided on a red blouse with puffed sleeves that matched her eyes tucked into a black skirt that was tight around her waist but loose and flouncy around her knees. Add in the black flats, the little purse that was slung over her shoulder, translucent black tights and the smokey make-up, _well_. Liz summed it up best.

“She won’t be able to resist you.”

Soul smiled bashfully and clasped her hands in front of her.

“Thanks Liz,” she mumbled.

The blonde laughed. “No problem Soulie. Ah, wait-” she ran over to Soul’s jewellery box and pulled out some things “-nearly forgot this.”

She slid a chunky silver bracelet onto Soul’s slim wrist, slipped a silver chain with a charm on it around Soul’s neck and held out some silver studs. Soul put them in then grinned.

“Now, shoo!” Liz said as she handed Soul a long dark jacket before she waved the other girl away. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”

Soul left with a final wave and tried to tamp down the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she walked to the only cinema in Death City. It didn’t work very well.

* * *

 

Soul had only just walked into the old-fashioned theatre when she heard Maka call her name from behind. She spun around and felt her heart leap up in her throat.

The other girl was wearing a knee-length pastel green dress and pale cream denim jacket with a pair of cream flats. Her blonde hair looked loose but as she came closer Soul could see that some of her blonde tresses were tied up in a little ponytail at the back of her head.

Soul felt like she could hardly breathe, she was so cute.

“H-hi,” she said breathlessly. “You look great.”

Maka laughed and flushed. “Thank you, you don’t look half bad yourself.”

She grinned and held out her hand. “Want to go get the tickets?”

Maka nodded and slipped her hand easily into Soul’s. She couldn’t stop the giddy smile spreading on her face as the little blonde intertwined their fingers.

* * *

 

The movie hadn’t been as good as they had hoped, the two girls had spent most of the time giggling at the cheesy special effects or rolling their eyes at the poor acting. The jump scares got to Soul a couple of times but Maka remained unfazed and simply squeezed the other girl’s hand whenever that happened.

When they walked out of the theatre they linked arms, leaning against each other a little.

“So,” Maka said, dragging out the ‘o’.

“So?” Soul replied.

“Do you want to go get something to eat?”

Soul grinned. “I’d love to. Got anywhere in mind?”

“Well, there’s this Indian place that’s actually really nice to sit in, if that’s OK with you,” the blonde suggested.

Soul nodded. “Sounds good. Lead the way.”

Their arms remained linked as they walked, keeping close together as the chill of the autumn night began to set in.

Like Maka had said, the restaurant was actually very nice, with little booths for two people that were far enough away from the other diners so that their conversation couldn’t be heard and a darkened atmosphere so that the candles on the table gave the place a romantic vibe.

Once they ordered, Soul laid her hand on the table suggestively, hoping Maka would place hers over it and give them an excuse to hold hands again. They began to talk about little things and soon enough, Maka laid her hand upon Soul’s. She turned her hand upwards so she could clasp the other girl’s hand. She very nearly had to bite her lip to stop herself from grinning too widely

“So, what is it like working at the library?” she asked as she ran her thumb over the blonde’s knuckles.

Maka shrugged. “Since I have the evening shifts when I work, it’s mostly pretty quiet, but it’ll probably get busier when it gets closer to finals.”

Soul hummed and nodded.

“Does it get very busy at Death Bucks?” Maka asked, cocking her head.

Soul chuckled and shook her head. “It doesn’t get too bad, but then I don’t work on the weekends or in the morning. Afternoons are mostly people on late lunch or looking for an afternoon snack.”

Their conversation turned to other topics, such as experiences of college (exciting and frightening in equal measure) and high school (Maka had gone to DC High while Soul had been in a private school on the east coast), and favourite foods (homemade Japanese cuisine for Maka and burgers for Soul), movies (both liked a good horror but Maka had a soft spot for cheesy rom-coms) and TV shows (Maka was into documentaries, unsurprisingly, and Soul liked detective dramas).

A waiter brought their food and they dug in, though they continued to talk between mouthfuls.

“So, who’s your roommate?” Soul asked before she shovelled some rice into her mouth.

“A girl called Tsubaki, linguistics major,” Maka replied. “She’s Japanese, like my mama so sometimes we talk in Japanese which is nice. I haven’t really spoken the language since my mama moved out when I was in high school but she’s helping me get back into the swing of it. You?”

“Liz Thompson, fashion major. She’s cool, but kinda nosey.” Soul smiled when Maka chuckled.

“Is this Liz Thompson tall with dirty blonde hair?”

Soul nodded. “Do you know her? She says she knows everyone.”

“Mmm, we went to high school together, along with the guy who took them in. Her sister’s a junior this year.” Maka smiled. “We four should hang out some time, invite her sister as well.”

Soul nodded. “Sounds cool.”

* * *

 

After the meal, Maka brought up the idea of going for an evening stroll but as soon as they left the restaurant, the cold wind bit into them and they decided it was probably best to go home.

Soul walked with Maka back to her dorm, arms linked again. In the doorway of her dorm, Maka turned and smiled at Soul, grabbing both of her hands.

“I had a really nice time today,” she said softly. “We should do this again.”

“Definitely.” Soul was grinning stupidly again but she could hardly care.

“Are you going to be OK on your way to your dorm?” Maka asked.

Soul nodded. “Yeah, it’s like five minutes away. I’ll text you when I get in?”

“Definitely,” the shorter girl said, making Soul snort before she leaned up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her lips gently to the other’s.

Soul blinked when Maka pulled away, flushing. A smile slid across the white-haired girl’s face and she leaned down to return the kiss, pressing her lips harder against the blonde’s.

“See ya,” Soul murmured and brushed her lips against Maka’s again before she pulled away to walk back to her dorm.

She took a couple of steps, then turned back and waved at the blonde who was still standing in the doorway. Maka waved back energetically before she went inside. Soul pulled her jacket tighter around her and made her way home.

* * *

 

When she got back to her room, she pulled her out phone and sent a quick message.

_back now. soulie xxx_

She could imagine Maka laughing and it made her cheeks flush. She undressed and ignored Liz’s interested and persistent stare in favour of putting on her favourite old shirt and pyjama pants.

Her phone vibrated.

_Good. Just so you know, you are now saved as ‘Soulie’. Maka xxx_

Soul grinned and nearly started squirming with happiness.

_well, i guess u’re just gonna have to be angel ;)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, so many line breaks. Sorry about that.


End file.
